Jazz Articles

Mr. Rencore + Tim Berne: Intollerant

by Jerry D'Souza
May 15, 2011

Mr. Rencore was formed in 2006 by baritone guitarist Gabrio Baldacci and drummer Daniele Paoletti, who had been playing together for 15 years in other bands. Three years later, they added baritone saxophonist Beppe Scardino. All three musicians are at ease in several genres, with careers that have traversed rock, folk jazz and free improvisation, making them comfortable bedfellows. Adding chameleon-like alto saxophonist Tim Berne--who came in specially for this project--the music on Intollerant is a salivating blend ...

Ohad Talmor: Newsreel

by Jerry D'Souza
May 10, 2011

Tenor saxophonist Ohad Talmor was born in Israel, grew up in Switzerland, and now lives in America. Talmor started out on piano before switching to the saxophone while in the US. Over the years, he has assembled an impressive list of band associations. In Switzerland he co-founded Zounds Collective with trumpeter Carlos Baumann to experiment with and play a wide range of music. He later went on to collaborate with Steve Swallow and Lee Konitz among others and formed several ...

Walter Beltrami: Paroxysmal Postural Vertigo

by Jerry D'Souza
May 8, 2011

Guitarist Walter Beltrami has good reason for calling this CD Paroxysmal Postural Vertigo. It's a disorder that emanates in the inner ear and results in a spinning sensation caused by changes in body posture. For him, it lasted six months and disappeared as suddenly as it came. Beltrami wrote many of the compositions on this record during that time. Whatever the causative factors, Beltrami's compositions are creative nuggets. He is not immune to drawing from several genres and ...

Chant: Ma Io Ch'in Questa Lingua

by Jerry D'Souza
April 22, 2010

Libero Mureddu, Cristiano Calcignile and Antonio Borghini, who have been together since 2000, find a unique realm for their music. They go through several levels and strata, never content to dwell on one plateau for any given length of time. They formulate, shape and delve into sounds with an instant tick of the imagination. And despite the fact that all of the music on Ma Io Ch'in Questa Lingua has a composed head, each piece reacts to the impulses of ...

Steve Swallow / Ohad Talmor / Adam Nussbaum: Playing in Traffic

by Lyn Horton
April 7, 2010

Recorded at the 2008 Xopana Festival in Madeira, Portugal, Playing in Traffic begins with its title tune and a rhythmic walking line from electric bassist Steve Swallow's nimble fingers. Drummer Adam Nussbaum follows with rapid stick and brushwork and tenor saxophonist Ohad Talmor folds into the rhythm with precise staccato phrases. This bouncy cut introduces a body of music that becomes nostalgically tuneful, simultaneously demonstrating focus and integrity. Talmor is a master at making melody his subject ...

Frencesco Diodati NEKO: Purple Bra

by Mark Corroto
February 5, 2010

The history of jazz has always favored the partnership of strong personalities, especially those of guitar and tenor saxophone collaborations. Memorable pairings have included: Jim Hall and Sonny Rollins, Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano, and Kurt Rosenwinkel and Mark Turner. Add to that list two Italian artists, guitarist Francesco Diodati and saxophonist Francesco Bigoni.

They make up half of Diodati's band NEKO, along with bassist Francesco Ponticelli and drummer Ermanno Baron. The quartet's debut, Purple Bra, highlights the ...

Bobby Previte: Pan Atlantic

by Andrey Henkin
January 11, 2010

The “mashup," the blending of two or more songs to create a new work, has steadily gained popularity over the last decade. It is only fitting then that creative musicians feel free to utilize a similar approach when producing original music. Drummer Bobby Previte's Pan Atlantic seems to be an excellent example. The title refers to the international composition of the band. Previte has been a New Yorker since 1979. Trombonist Gianluca Petrella is one of Italy's ...

3Quietmen / Stefano Battaglia: Bartokosmos

by Glenn Astarita
August 13, 2009

3Quietmen is a young Italian trio that draws inspiration from composer Bela Bartok's Mikrokosmos, a prominent work consisting of 153 piano pieces. Fellow countryman and revered modern jazz pianist Stefano Battaglia joins the band for these pieces that waver between jazz and groove-based abstractions, shaded with electronics. It's a polytonal feast for the ears, as the musicians execute circular mini-motifs and cunning paradigm shifts, punchy ostinatos and brawny group-centric interplay.

Battaglia occasionally calms the waters via airy, jazz-based ...

Francesco Bearzatti - Bizart Trio: Virus

by Glenn Astarita
May 1, 2003

Italian multi-woodwind ace Francesco Bearzatti mans the helm on Virus, along with superb support from French organist/electronics whiz Emmanuel Bex and famed drummer Aldo Romano. Whereas, special guest artists chip in on certain tracks.

Bearzatti undoes conventional organ-based trio fare with some cleverly devised arrangements. Sure, they swing and churn out a few stifling bop burners, but the group reaps strong dividends via glowing sonic characteristics and avant-garde based shifts in direction. Bex injects subtle EFX to ...